The winners! AP's free monthly photo comp for December 2023

Congratulations to Elsie Edw, whose image Train Ride Home has won AP's December free monthly photo comp, as selected by AP Ed. Mike O'Connor. The theme this month was 'On Holiday'.

Speaking about the image, Mike said the image stood out because it captured something of the feeling of what it's like to travel.

"This was a particularly hard theme to shortlist and judge as it's so broad - many people's definition of a travel photo is an image that they take on their travels, but it can also be an image that transports a viewer and gives a sense of a place and culture."

"For this reason, Elsie's shot was a winner this month, as it captures some of the feeling of being on holiday and experiencing new and unexpected sites - sure, it doesn't have the 'wow' factor of a dramatic landscape, but it does capture a feeling."

Mike's other special mentions this month were Ani Vemulpad's Mara Royalty and Jeff Mahoney's Maid of the Mist.

Over on Facebook, our people's choice was bagged this month by Richard Misquitta, for his evocative image Sailing Away, which had 39 votes at competition close. 

If you'd like to see the full shortlist, you can do so here, and you can also enter our free monthly photo comp for January right here. The theme is Reflections, and there's just a few days left.